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Mycelium and primordial medicinal fungi - cultivation

Mycelium (mycelium)

Every mushroom must have seen the mallow - when harvesting the fruit in the forest, it is seen as a tangle of white fibers called hyphae, from which the fruit grows. Not everyone knows that this forest grows through forest soil (or wood-borne fungi, attacked wood) at distances of many meters, and that its total weight is usually much larger than the total weight of the fruit-trees. When growing the biomass of medicinal fungi in vitro (ie artificially), mycelium grows much faster than the fetus. When inoculated on a culture vessel (eg a petri dish), the mycelium swells rapidly through the culture medium (agar) and after about 7 days forms on its surface the bones called primordium - the germ.

Primordium

Primordium is a germ fungus in the form of bumps on the surface of the culture medium (agar). From that time the theorists would grow up in time. Practically, the fungal biomass is immediately processed into the extract and packaged as capsules or tablets. The only reason why word primordium is used is to emphasize the similarity of mushroom biomass and traditional fertility.

Growing mycelium on agar in Petri dishes is easier than it seems. We need Petri dishes from lab equipment (a sterilization autoclave is an advantage, not a necessity). Microbiological laboratory practice is an advantage, but not a necessity - experience with fruit making is enough.

The procedure for growing mycelium in domestic conditions

When growing mycelium, as with fruit harvesting, we must take care of purity and sterilization - otherwise we will grow microbial colonies instead of fungus on agar. To grow mushrooms, first we need to prepare an agar broth. Agar can be purchased as a cookie ingredient. Because agar itself does not provide nutrition, we need to enrich the agar with a nutritious ingredient, such as barley malt and yeast extract, to which soy protein can be added. These ingredients, which are commonly available, are dissolved together with agar in hot water on agar broth. Petri dishes are sterilized by boiling, and filled at 100 ° C with agar broth (also heated to 100 ° C), cover with lid and allow to solidify in the refrigerator. Mushrooms are not demanding, many species grow on even sublime substrates, so we do not have to worry too much about their nutrition.

What we need to worry about are bacteria and molds. Sterile Petri dishes should not be opened after filling and covering with the lid (same as with jar bottles). We only open them for a short period of time with mushroom sprouts or mycelium. Spores are obtained from fresh or dry sponge. We will inoculate only when the agar has solidified (20 hours in the refrigerator) and can be done with a stainless steel rod, which is first sterilized by flame:

When inoculating the lid of Petri dish we lift slowly and only for the shortest necessary time. We still hold the lid over the agar to prevent bacteria from entering. We cultivate at room temperature. As far as everything is concerned, in a few days the white mycelium of the mushrooms should grow in our bowl. The mycelium will soon create primordium ("young fruiting"). Bacterial colonies that you will encounter usually appear as transparent, white or colored bumps on the surface of the agar. Fungus initially forms fungal-like mycelium, but will soon begin to form green or black fungal spores. Mushrooms have the ability to "exert" some of the bacteria from agar, but if bacteria cause major problems, antibiotics can be added to the broth (mycelium grown and primordium from the agar, of course, not eating).

Primordium (germinal germs), which are then formed on agar:

Cloning of mushrooms on agar

In the agar plates described above, the fungi can also be cloned. For that, we need a clean piece of fresh, living trunk that we simply put on the surface of agar.

Cloning - the ear of Jidášovo, Auricularia auricula-judae )

The sponge fibers from which the fruiting compound is folded gradually break down and re-create the mycelium that grows over the surface of the agar. If this mycelium is used to inoculate another substrate, we obtain mushrooms, which are a clone of the used part of the fruiting tree.

Preparations from mushroom biomass (mycelium and primordium)

The advantage of cultivating mycelium on agar is that we can visually see that the sponge actually grows, not bacteria or molds. Mycelium grown on agar is therefore used to vaccinate logs (or other substrates) in medicinal plants.

In the industrial cultivation of mushroom biomass in the form of mycelium and priomordi, the step of growing the ferrets on the natural substrate (which may last for many months in medicinal sponges) completely omitted and the fungus preparations are made directly from the fungal biomass. Mycelium on agar grows rapidly (a few days), but nutrients in agar will soon be exhausted. Growth then stops and the resulting fungal biomass is processed. Mushroom biomass products have to concentrate many times, because their bulk is exhausted agar. While for concentrate concentrates, the concentration is an optional, rewarding process for mushroom biomass products.

If we wanted to imitate this industrial process, we would have to pick the agar-washed mycelium from our petri dishes, put it in the boiling glass and dissolve the boil. We would obtain a secondary broth containing broth from mycelium and primordial and dissolved exhausted agar. Evaporation and filtration would result in a liquid concentrate, by lyophilization of a powdered concentrate.

2008 – 2018 Adaptogens.These are personal pages with the theme of medicinal plants and biological thinking in medicine. Unless otherwise stated, all information contained herein is personal views of the author. This information is not a substitute for consulting a doctor or pharmacist. The author is not liable for any damage caused to the information contained therein, or the wrong interpretation. Copying content without permission is prohibited.